It's been almost a year since our visit to Vancouver, BC. I recently checked on the entries I had written about the trips I had made to Canada and lo and behold, there were none about our trip to Vancouver, British Columbia last Christmas 2012. I had forgotten to upload the pictures Marc and I took while in this foremost Canadian West Coast City.

It was Marc's first visit there at that time while it was my second. Marc has since returned for a quick three day work assignment last November 2013. My very first visit there, on the other hand, took place in May 1994. A fellow classmate from Ateneo de Manila and I drove up to Vancouver from Seattle for a day at that time.

Anyway, I was very happy to be back and this time I knew I was going to really know the city since we were staying here for the week beginning Christmas all the way to New Year's Eve.

Marc and I were supposed to stay the night in Seattle on December 25. However, since it just rained like it had never ever rained before in Seattle, we decided to just head on straight to Vancouver and skip Seattle altogether. We knew we would just be holed up in our hotel room given the nasty weather. We made the right choice. As soon as we arrived at the Seattle International Airport, we took the metro train to the Amtrak station next to Chinatown. From there we boarded a bus to Canada. We were supposed to take the train but all trains were halted due to a landslide along the way between Washington State and BC. Anyway, the bus ride was very pleasant. We felt like we were back on a plane once again.

We arrived around 6 pm Vancouver time but since it was Christmas Day, everything was closed even in the train station except McDonald's. We went straight to our hotel, The Days Inn of Vancouver, right in the middle of city. We lucked out with this hotel. We paid a mere $50 a night for each of the nights we spent in Canada. That was a definite bargain! As soon as we checked in, we headed back to the train station to have dinner in McDonald's. It was the only restaurant after all that we saw open.

After a good night's rest, it was sightseeing for us in downtown Vancouver. The atmosphere was quite electric. There were people everywhere. I was actually surprised to see thousands of Chinese citizens in Vancouver. Even more than the number of Chinese I see on a daily basis in San Francisco. As another classmate from Ateneo de Manila who now calls Vancouver home told me, another name they call Vancouver is Hongcouver. I totally understand. It was a predominantly Asian crowd gathered at the Pacific Place Mall for a full day of shopping on Dec. 26, more popularly called Boxing Day by locals. It reminded me of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, in the US when people literally go amock shopping here, there, and everywhere.

There is a Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco's very upscale Nob Hill area and its building is simply grand. When we found out that there was a Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver as well, we just had to take a peek.

Marc is a big fan of this Canadian Donut Chain. We actually had breakfast at a Tim Horton's every single day we were in Vancouver. They served bread, muffins, and other pastries besides donuts.

I have always remembered Gastown from my first visit. Who can forget the combined street clock and lamp that blows a whistle here?

Gastown reminded me so much of a stretch of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It was full of souvenir stores and art galleries catering to tourists.

Besides the Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada Place was one of the few places I visited in Vancouver in 1994. This building was brand spanking new then. Fast forward nearly twenty years later, it continues to be an imposing landmark in this west coast Canadian city.

Canada Place was surrounded by Christmas trees all around.